As Apple has recently launched an LTE version of the iPad, the company’s next smartphone is expected to support the wireless technology as well.

According to DigiTimes, an iPhone 5 with LTE could drive global sales of such smartphones. The device is expected to be released around September or October of this year.

The Taiwanese newspaper writes that the LTE inclusion is likely to boost global sales of smartphones supporting the technology in 2012.

Initial estimates were that 25-30 million LTE smartphones would be sold this year, but Taiwan-based smartphone makers claim that a potential LTE iPhone could drive sales up to between 45 and 50 million units.

The site reports: “However, the new iPad can only support LTE networks in North America because networks in other regions adopt different frequency bands, the sources pointed out. Currently, 700MHz and 2,100MHz are used in North America, 800MHz and 2,600MHz in Western Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 800MHz, 1,800MHz, 2,300MHz and 2,600MHz in Eastern Europe, and 1,800MHz and 2,100MHz in Asia Pacific, the sources indicated. The frequency bands adopted for LTE networks around the world in 2015 will have 38 combinations, with 700MHz to have the largest proportion at 16%, 2,100MHz to have 13%, 2,600MHz 11% and 2,500MHz 10%, the sources cited Wireless Intelligence under the GSMA as indicating.”

Besides LTE compatibility, the next iPhone is expected to feature a larger display, an improved battery, a redesigned antenna and a new aluminum casing.